The Roaring Lions of the Air
Lawrence James describes how costs and logistics made air power a way of enforcing British policy in the Middle East between the wars.
‘The roaring lions of the air' was the name given by Iraqi tribesmen to RAF bombers during the 1920s and 1930s. These machines flew over the deserts and mountains of Iraq, Jordan, southern Arabia, the Sudan, Somaliland and the North-West Frontier. They were a reminder of the power of the British Empire and the ability of its chastising arm to reach the remotest regions and punish the wayward. In official language this new disciplinary system was called 'air control', a cheap, scientific and, according to its supporters, humane method of keeping the imperial peace.
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